Getting fit will not happen without a little planning

I have written similar posts to this before. The reason I am writing another one is because I am passionate about this topic as it is the key to changing from being someone who has a haphazard approach to fitness to being someone who is consistent. The key to success once you get beyond your 20s is to be consistent in terms of how much you move and the kind of food you eat. Both of these – training and food – are almost certainly doomed if you take the approach that you will just see what happens. If your life is anything like mine the likelihood of there being an opening in your day where you suddenly find yourself with an hour for training is not great. Again, without a little planning, the likelihood of you figuring out what your body really needs and there being the necessary ingredients in the kitchen to whip up some healthy meals is also low.

If you are ever going to make it to a training session and if you are ever going to be someone who trains on a regular basis – you need a plan – and it has to be a plan that you are able to stick to – a plan that works.

Similarly, if you are going to be someone who eats the kinds of meals and snacks that you know you should be eating – you need to work out what you are going to eat, what ingredients to buy, you need some time to prepare the meals and you have to have time to eat mindfully (as opposed to shoving food down while you work on the computer like I am now!).

When you have a priority – it might be getting to your kids’ concert or completing an important work project or it might be making sure your pet has a good life – you put that priority item first. It is something you will not miss – you won’t settle for less. If something happens that means that you will miss it – you come up with a different plan. Once you make a decision to make health and fitness a priority (keeping in mind all the benefits you can expect to flow into other areas of your life) you will start to treat training and nutrition as priority items. Training sessions will be scheduled at the start of each week, menus will be planned, ingredients will be bought or ordered and food prep will be done. If your plans have to change you will find a way to fit it in or make it work – because it is important to you.